Zona Central, Chile in the context of 1906 Valparaíso earthquake

Viña del Mar (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbiɲa ðel ˈmaɾ]; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as La Ciudad Jardín ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located within the Valparaíso Region, and it is Chile's fourth largest city with a population of 324,836 (according to the 2008 census). Viña del Mar is also part of the Greater Valparaíso area, the country's second largest metropolitan area (pop. 935,602, 2017 census), after the Metropolitan area of Santiago.

The culture of Chile reflects the population and the geographic isolation of the country in relation to the rest of South America. Since colonial times, the Chilean culture has been a mix of Spanish colonial elements with elements of indigenous (mostly Mapuche) culture, as well as that of other immigrant cultures, mostly German, British, French, and Italian.

The Huasos of Central Chile and their native or folk music and dance are central to Chilean folk culture. Even though the folk traditions of Central Chile are central to Chilean cultural and national identity, Chile is both geographically and culturally diverse with both the North and the South having their own folk music and dance due to different indigenous peoples and different immigrant groups settling there. Additionally, while some regions of Chile have very strong indigenous heritage, such as Araucanía Region, Easter Island, and Arica y Parinacota Region, some regions lack considerable indigenous communities and a few other regions have noteworthy non-Spanish European immigrant heritage.

The Norte Chico region is one of five natural regions of continental Chile, as defined by the government agency CORFO in 1950. Its northern border is formed by the limit with the Far North, to the west lies the Pacific Ocean, to the east the Andes mountains and Argentina, and to the south the Zona Central natural region. Although from a strictly geographic point of view, this natural region corresponds to the Chilean territory between the rivers Copiapó and Aconcagua. Traditionally, the Norte Chico refers to the zone comprising the regions of Atacama and Coquimbo. This region was home to the Diaguita people.

The Commune of Santiago is the central commune of the Santiago Province, located at the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region in Chile's Central Zone. Locally, Santiago is usually abbreviated Stgo. It is also called as "Santiago Centro" (Central Santiago or Downtown Santiago) in order to differentiate it from Greater Santiago, a larger entity which includes the Santiago commune along with 36 other communes. With a population of 438,856, it is the 3rd-largest commune in Chile.